Trading update31 Jul 2018 11:30
Bit of a mixed bag and, in some respects, raises more questions than answers. As Eshaitan points out, we are not showing enough revenue in the whole of the first half to account for the receipts you would expect for the 10,500 sq metres of tiles for the two orders mentioned alone. So, what do they mean by ‘completed’? It cannot mean fully delivered and paid for can it? So presumably they mean they have completed the cutting and polishing. Clarification would certainly be welcome.
As ever with Fox, progress is slower than we would hope, but it is good progress nonetheless. I make the increase in revenues for the first half 85%. Revenue for the year to 31/12/17 was €1.2m. So if you apply that rate of increase to the whole year, we can expect a minimum revenue figure of €2.2m in my view. However, given everything that we know, that should be a wildly conservative estimate.
So, for example, 6 months of the Chinese order of 300 tons a month at €170 per ton is €300,000 alone!
As has already been suggested, an RNS on the Chinese order would probably have produced a decent rise in the sp on its own, but wrapping it up in the trading update has dulled its impact.
This may not be the blockbuster RNS we were hoping for, but we are getting there and the recent rate of growth is actually quite impressive if viewed objectively and divorced from past delays.
No doubt more detail to come and an update in September with the interims.
Before that, we can hope for an interview with CG which might bring more clarification.